Hungry fans distract ballpark experience

July 30, 2007

We went to an eating and drinking frenzy the other day - and a baseball game. It was an excellent Minnesota Twins baseball game but, what an epiphany we experienced when it came to fans. We've never seen so many people in one place so in need of nourishment and drink than at this sporting event. How about this: Score 1-0, Joe Mauer is up with bases loaded and two outs, and this mob of humanity stands up to go get more food and drink. They stand in line to get out to the aisle, which is also immensely crowded. All this while the Twins might tie the ball game or go ahead. These hungry, thirsty fans are paying no attention to the game at all, and it doesn't appear that they will let anything stand in their way. If you are looking for thoughtless and rude people, you might just find them at a sporting event. Mary Ann and I have attended some great Minnesota Twins baseball games and have enjoyed ourselves very much. This particular game was very close - what we saw of it anyway. It was a real pitching duel, but the Twins lost 1-0. It was just the type of game you enjoy watching - but those ravenous fans blocked our view most of the time. We travel more than we used to and have added enhancements to our travel experiences. One such enhancement is a GPS, which is just a hoot. There is a woman's voice with it that cracks us up. We have nicknamed her Maxine. If we don't follow her driving instructions, she becomes just a tad irate, uttering in a grating voice: Recalculating. At times she even goes to the extreme of instructing us to do a U-turn. Sometimes I think she would like to add "dummy" on the end of her instructions. As the electronic devices become more and more advanced, we have also added the comforting sounds of XM radio, which becomes nearly addictive. We never imagined that sounds so pleasurable could emanate from a car radio. With hundreds of choices of stations, you are never wanting for a variety of listening. Of course, being the age we are, we love to listen to the timeless classics, and music of the '40s and '50s. OK, back to the feeding and drinking frenzy when a ball game is taking place. I must admit that most of these inconveniences we experienced at the Twins game were self-inflicted. That is, we sat on the outside seats of the rows closest to home plate and, of course, right beside the steps up to the concourse and the food. From our seats we had to look to the right to see the battersOur seats might we had to look to the right to see the batters, and these hungry fans continually lined up in the aisles right in front of us. We couldn't see over them and, of course, we couldn't see through them. But at least the Metrodome staff will not let a person back to his or her seat until the batter is finished batting. However, they cannot control those who rise from their seats and climb the stairs. It also seemed to us as though attendance at a baseball game must be the ultimate place to show off fashions of the funkiest outfits ever designed. Who needs to go to a zoo? Just watch the human species. Nuff said. Gerald “Jerry” Krueger is a retired educator, coach, commercial pilot and farmer. He can be reached by writing the American News at P.O. Box 4430, Aberdeen, S.D., 57402, or by e-mail at americannews@aberdeennews.com. His column publishes most Mondays.